Jeep-ishness

I have a little fantasy that was passed down from my mom. Owning a Jeep Wrangler soft top, road tripping on an amazing summer day, wind in my hair, sunglasses on and radio blasting.

Nevertheless, Jeep has lost my respect over the years. It's this odd little obsession I have. Perhaps it's because it was the car of choice for my privileged classmates at Colgate. You would have thought we had corporate sponsorship. In fact, I specifically remember when they revamped the Grand Cherokee when I was in college so it looked more like a Land Rover or a Range Rover. Gone were the sleek curves that made it stand out in the world of SUVs (curves that Lexus and others would later adopt in my compact SUVs). Instead, they began to look like boxes.

Today I was treated to the imitation Hummer Jeep Cherokee. Why. Seriously. Why. OK, in all fairness, it appears to be a copycat of the less absurd H2. Still, why would you want to model yourself after the most ridiculous vehicle out there? I get the trying to appeal to a clientele with more money to burn, I get trying to adapt to trends. Nevertheless, do you remember that you were the ORIGINAL military vehicle? Niche, anyone? Is there a not dueling market out there? Retro military vs. new military? Don't Wrangler drivers opt for the jungle fatigues while the Hummer drivers sport the urban fatigues?

I simply loathe the corporate inferiority complex. If you can't be proud of your product, what it has to offer and why it's unique, why even bother putting it out.

As an aside, I feel the same way about universities. But that's another blog.